2010 Ford F-150 FX4 - Against The Grain

A Blue Oval Built to the Max

Josh Coleman of Highlands, Texas, is no stranger to the custom vehicle scene. Having built a ’bagged ’88-’98 Chevy and a Dodge Magnum on hydraulics, Josh wanted to change things up and have a nice, lifted fullsize truck for a daily driver. This led him to purchase a 2010 Ford F-150 FX4. However, Josh never intended for this to turn into a full-blown show truck. But after cruising several local shows and seeing some of the finest lifted trucks in America, a fire was lit inside Josh and his clean daily turned into a head-turning award winner.

After taking possession of the Blue Oval, Josh took it to Maxxed Performance, in Baytown, Texas, to get a little distance from the Texas asphalt. To start off, a custom-powdercoated 12-inch BDS lift kit was installed. Wheel travel is aided by Icon Vehicle Dynamics uniball control arms and custom King coilovers. The rear rides on a matching BDS lift and Fox 2.0 shocks. The truck sits even higher, thanks to 37-inch Nitto Trail Grappler M/T tires wrapped around a set of 22x14 American Force Shield SS6 wheels.

A lifted truck on nice wheels looks good, but living in the Houston area, Josh had to do more to his truck to make it stand out. For this, he enlisted the help of Maxxed Out Designs in Magnolia, Texas. The first thing was to get a little more fender clearance. This was accomplished with a 3-inch body lift. Next, the body was stripped of all trim pieces, lights, and handles. This provided a nice canvas to apply a custom graphic front to rear. Following the graphic, several coats of flat clear were applied to give the truck a sheenless finish. Next, a set of ADD Venom bumpers went on front and rear. Illumination is provided by a 20-inch Rigid lightbar up front and a pair of Rigid 4-inch square lights out back. Rather than settling for a standard set of aftermarket headlights, Josh sent his factory lights to Plain and Simple by Design, in Pasadena, Texas, to have them converted to projectors and custom painted. Finally, Josh installed eight Rigid A-series LED lights under the truck to accent the suspension components.

Now, Josh had a truck that definitely turned heads, but the interior was still stock and that had to change. Josh pulled all of the plastics from the dash and center console and sent them to Maxed Out Designs to be paint matched to the exterior. Next, the seats and headliner were taken to JC Kustomz in Friendswood, Texas. The seats received black leather and gray suede covers, and the headliner was covered in black suede. With everything out of the truck, it was the perfect time to give the audio a boost. JC Kustomz built a sub box for under the rear seat that houses four 10-inch JL Audio TW3 subs. The door speakers were replaced with Focal 6.5-inch components, while a pair of JL Audio amps powers everything.

After reassembling the interior, Josh cruised around in his new truck for a while until he realized that the massive wheels and tires were sucking a ton of power from the 5.4L engine. To help bring some of those ponies back, Josh installed a custom-painted S&B cool-air intake and a 3-inch MBRP exhaust. An Edge CTS programmer gives Josh the ability to switch from economical cruising to tire-shredding peak performance at the push of a button.

Josh’s truck was finally finished up and he could truly enjoy it, all while turning heads and winning trophies. Josh wanted to send a huge thanks to all the guys that put time into his truck. He also wanted to thank his club, Damage Inc., and his family for all the support.